HORNÝ Tisovník lies in Novohrad county, a region along Slovakia's southern border with Hungary. This historical region used to be much bigger, but it was divided after the monarchy was split up following World War I. Its second part is in modern-day Hungary and is called Nógrád.
Horný Tisovník remained rural into the first half of the 20th century. Its inhabitants worked in the fields and made their living growing and trading grain.
This postcard from the 1920s shows the thatch-covered granaries, where grain was stored immediately after threshing. This is because, unlike other villages in Slovakia, there weren’t any barns in Horný Tisovník.
This image was taken by Karol Plicka. The legendary Slovak ethnographer, photographer, film maker and admirer of Slovak folklore travelled around the country during the last century and documented Slovak folklore. One of his most respected works is the film Zem spieva (The Earth Sings), from 1933.
